Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Honoring Gene Colan & Dave Cockrum

Dan Bertwell sent me the below letter and HERO assures me this is on the up and up. So I support these efforts and hope many of you will, too:

My name is Dan Bertwell and I am running two marathons within the first two weeks of October to raise money for the Hero Initiative. Comics were an escape for me when I was very young and I latched onto the X-Men, Colossus in particular, right away. I stopped collecting when I became a teenager (mostly for financial reasons) and got back into it while in my twenties. Soon after I returned I was saddened to hear that Dave Cockrum, who had created many of the characters and drawn many of the stories that I loved so much, had passed away. His family mentioned in his obituary that, rather than sending flowers, fans should make donations to the Hero Initiative. This was the first I’d heard of the charity.

The Hero Initiative is a non-profit with a very simple purpose: to assist comic creators in need. Like many people, I’ve seen the Hero table at various cons in the past few years, and I’ve donated some cash into the collection jars that they set up. Earlier this year I decided that I’d like to run another marathon but wanted this run to benefit others as well as myself. I decided to run for the Hero Initiative because I wanted to give back to the comic community.

The recent passing of Gene Colan cemented in my mind that I should run two marathons and dedicate them to Mr. ockrum and Mr. Colan and all of the creators that have brought so many great stories into my life. I’ll run the New Hampshire Marathon on October 1 and the Hartford Marathon on October 15 and I hope very much that anyone able to donate will do so by going to http://www.razoo.com/marathondan.

All told, between training and the races, I’m going to run somewhere between 500 and 600 miles. I hope that all that work can help out some creators in need.

Meth Addict

Attempting to post comments to this blog? Note that I don't accept anonymous comments. No guts, no glory.

Eye of the Beholder

Meth is a dangerous writer. He doesn’t seem to care if you like him.- Neal Adams

Meth’s writing is fresh and absorbing—clever and replete with surprises.- Stan Lee

Anyone who can give Barry Windsor-Smith a pissy fit is okay in my book.- Joe Staton

The only thing about Cliff’s writing that makes me crazy is the demented titles he puts on them. For a guy who writes as well as he does, and who thinks as deeply as he does, I can’t figure it out! - Harlan Ellison

Clifford Meth is one of dark fiction's best-kept secrets.- Barnes and Noble

Meth is one of the more intriguing writers of short stories to arrive in recent years. A damned fine writer. He does not write the easy stories.- Tony Isabella / The Comic Buyer’s Guide

Meth’s imagination, integrity and insight are touched by a dark, often perverse humor. It’s always exciting to discover new writers on their way up—and Meth’s course is worth charting. - Jim Steranko

I don’t know how much money the Cockrums got, but having a friend like Clifford Meth is worth more than a million dollars. - John Romita

Cliff’s writing has attitude. While his stories are frequently angry or outrageous, they’re all honest insights into the human psyche. - Dave Cockrum (co-creator of The X-Men)

Meth is a unique and exciting voice--funny, twisted, visionary. His insights into character and culture are often startling and his stories, always entertaining. I am a huge fan. - Richard Saperstein, Pres. The Weinstein Company

Clifford Meth sharpens the mundane details of everyday life to a razor's edge. I know of no other experience so simultaneously depressing...and uplifting. - Steve Brown, Chairman IDT Entertainment

You write character dialogue like O'Hara & string words together so effortlessly, kiddo. Kudos to you! Love good writing--the stuff so rare in comics & animation, my two vexing venues...I'm ossified, I'm sure, by actually reading top story work. - Alex Toth

Although they're called dark fiction, there's a "real" quality to Clifford Meth's stories that lifts them up and out of his books. And each successive story remains unique enough to make me start another, wondering what he'll come up with next. - Steve Forbert

Clifford Meth knows things. Dark, dank, nasty things... He doesn't scrape away the barnacles covering the hull of human interaction so much as he lifts up the barnacles, describes what's under them, and then puts the barnacles back and walks away with his hands in his pockets, whistling in the dark. - Peter David

Clifford Meth has done more to make the comic book industry better for its creators than has the collective career of many good people working within it. Those who speak much and do little struggle to fathom how some inspire granduer with few words. To them, Clifford Meth is of the unfathomable. - Michael Netzer

[Meth's] work is about the dark side of life, as if he were sculpting beautifully realistic statues while working exclusively in blood and excrement. And then setting them on fire...I'm a huge fan. I read him mouth open and giggling, stunned, amused and aroused. - Bill Messner-Loebs

I read Clifford Meth because the guy has a unique niche. He doesn't write fiction--he writes punk fiction! - Andy Shernoff (The Dictators)

Meth's writing is dark, relentless and always in your face. It doesn’t make for easy reading, but it is highly emotional and makes you pay attention, which is the best thing a writer can do... He writes from a place others won’t walk. - Marv Wolfman (creator of Blade)

Every Clifford Meth story is a tale of two balls. - Peppi Marchello (The Good Rats)

If you have missed the true, revealing richness of [Meth's] implications, then consider this an urgent reminder--a rap on the knuckles--to read it again. - Robert Bloch (author of Psycho)

Cliff writes very well about very intimate subjects.- Steve Gerber (creator of Howard the Duck)

It's easy to be your friend when there ain't no shit coming down. It's when the nails are being driven into your wrists that you find out whether somebody is a real friend and a stand-up person. And that's Cliff. - Harlan Ellison

Cliff, on behalf of the creative community, let me be the zillionth to thank you for the great care and Ellisonian-level protectiveness you've shown to the giants. - Mark Waid

Meth can be subtle, beautiful and venal in one sentence. - Howard Chaykin

Saying good things about Clifford Meth is like giving endorsements to Zorro. - Barney Dannelke

Comics for Sale

In addition to representing Dave Cockrum's personal collection for his Estate, I am selling my Silver Age collection. Click here for details.